James Mao's strong drive to the hoop with the clock winding down scored the game-winner for Pure Youth Constructions as they edged past the dmedia Numen in a 108-107 thriller at the Taipei County sports Complex on Saturday evening.
The American from the University of Texas rose to the occasion by delivering the winner. In doing so, he made skipper Hsu Jin-tseh's decision to foul the Numen to gain possession for the final shot look like a smart one.
"We could have let them [the Numen] hold the ball for the last shot and hope that they didn't make it, but that would be too passive on our part," Hsu said after the game.
Instead, he gave the order to foul the Numen and send Ouyang Jing-hen to the free-throw line to get the ball back for the final shot.
And Ouyang's 1-for-2 shooting from the line gave the Numen a one-point lead before Mao's game-clincher.
The contest began with the builders coming out firing by racking up 31 points in the first quarter to lead 31-26.
Even though dmedia played an effective second quarter offensively with Ouayang and all-purpose forward Jonathan Sanders taking control, Pure Youth still managed to finish out the half with a 54-51 advantage.
Following a 7-1 run by the builders early in the third, the teams traded baskets in a high-scoring affair to end the quarter with Pure Youth leading 87-80.
Sanders' timely surge at the start of the fourth led to an 8-0 run that gave dmedia their first lead since the opening quarter at 88-87.
But it was not meant to be, as Mao somehow found a way to score the game-winner.
Taiwan Beer 92, BOT 90
Overcoming deficits as large as 12 points midway through the fourth quarter, Taiwan Beer avoided what would have been an embarrassing loss to the Bank of Taiwan by eking out a 92-90 win on Saturday night.
The defending champs looked sluggish through the first three quarters against a shorthanded bankers' crew as they fell behind early and were forced to play catch-up for almost the entire contest.
And with the game on the line, Ho Sho-cheng and Lin "The Beast" hit several key jumpers to bring Taiwan Beer from a dozen down to lead 91-90 before holding on for the win.
Failure to contain Taiwan Beer's big guns cost the bankers the win. They played brilliantly for 39 minutes, but squandered the lead in the final seconds for their fourth-straight defeat.
Dinos 81, Tigers 67
The Yulon Dinos needed a big third quarter to turn a three-point halftime deficit into an eight-point lead as they fended off the Dacin Tigers to win 81-67 on Saturday afternoon.
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